Southwest Airlines reveals five new routes as it extends schedule into fall

Southwest Airlines announced five new non-stop routes Thursday as the carrier extended its booking schedule through Oct. 1.

Several of the new routes will put Southwest into highly competitive markets. Its new Atlanta-Nashville service, for example, will go up against Delta’s 11 daily round-trip flights on the route. Southwest’s Denver-Cincinnati route also will face competition, with four other carriers offering either seasonal or year-round service between the cities.

Southwest did not discontinue any year-round non-stop routes in its latest schedule update, though service was significantly reduced on several city-pairs.

That includes five domestic routes that will go from daily service to Saturday-only service. Those routes are Chicago Midway-Boise; Columbus, Ohio-Fort Lauderdale; St. Louis-Panama City, Fla.; Houston Hobby-San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Pittsburgh-Fort Myers, Fla. Another domestic route -- Denver-Charleston, S.C. -- will go from daily non-stop service to non-stop service only on Saturdays and Sundays.

One domestic seasonal route -- Chicago Midway-Panama City, Fla. -- will not be returning in this year's fall schedule. That route had previously operated only on Saturdays.

Scroll down for schedule details on all five of Southwest’s new routes:

Former and current United Airlines employees who had served on the Boeing 727 pose in front of the first of the type after its final flight at the Museum of Flight in Seattle on March 2, 2016. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAY

A delightfully dated interior graces the cabin of the first Boeing 727, which completed its last flight on March 2, 2016, in Seattle. It is now on permanent display at the Museum of Flight. Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAY

As a promotion, Southwest was offering $19 one-way fares on the route, though those fares are offered only for flights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

“Southwest Airlines’ decision to add nonstop service to Atlanta out of Nashville International Airport will be welcomed by travelers to and from Nashville, particularly within the business community, which has long-sought more such service,” Doug Kreulen, CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, said in Southwest’s statement. “This new route brings competition to that market and provides additional options for our passengers.”

One daily round-trip flight begins Aug. 7. Delta and Spirit also offer non-stop service on this route.

Southwest also is beefing up its schedules on four other routes from LAX. Beginning Aug. 7, the carrier’s existing schedule from L.A. to both New Orleans and Portland, Ore., will go to three daily flights, up from the current two. Southwest also is adding additional flights to its LAX-Baltimore schedule, which will feature four daily round-trip flights by August. Additionally, Southwest’s seasonal service between L.A. and Omaha will become a year-round offering.

One daily round-trip flight begins Aug. 7. Allegiant, Delta, Frontier and United offer non-stop service on this route.

“Southwest’s flight schedule to Denver will provide one-stop service to more than 15 West Coast destinations such as Reno, San Francisco, Phoenix, Portland, Los Angeles, Ontario, Tucson and Salt Lake City,” the Cincinnati airport said in its own release touting the new service.

Plane or airline-themed cakes have become common centerpieces at ceremonies to mark new airline service. This cake fashioned in the model of a Southwest 737 is one of the more unique ones. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

A boy on Southwest Flight 1804 -- the carrier's first-ever to fly paying passengers outside the USA -- volunteered to help attendants with their duties on the way from BWI airport to Aruba. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

The white sands of Aruba come into view on July 1, 2014, as Southwest's first-ever international flight nears the end of its four-hour journey from Baltimore/Washington International. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Plane or airline-themed cakes have become common centerpieces at ceremonies to mark new airline service. This cake fashioned in the model of a Southwest 737 is one of the more unique ones. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Teresa Laraba, Southwest's Senior Vice President of Customers (third from the right), joins Aruba government officials for a ceremonial ribbon cutting to mark the carrier's first-ever flight to the island on July 1, 2014. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Teresa Laraba, Southwest's Senior Vice President of Customers, does her best to slice an intricate ceremonial cake in the shape of a Southwest 737 Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport on July 1, 2014. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Caribbean-themed musical performers were on hand at BWI on July 1, 2014, to help create atmosphere for Southwest’s first international flights -- bound for Aruba, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Southwest Flight 1804 – Southwest’s first-ever international departure – flies over the Atlantic off the coast of the Carolinas on July 1, 2014, on its way from BWI airport to Aruba Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY